This is off the topic of shaping… A few days ago I was paddling out to the lineup and saw a small shark charge toward a girl paddling in front of me. Last night I watched an amazing program about jumping sharks called, Air Jaws. All this stuff got me wondering if any of you have had any interesting encounters with sharks? I know that most of you have logged in a bunch of water time and probably have seen some pretty wild things. Sorry if this has nothing to do with surfboard design, I’ve just been having shark on the brain lately.
i’ve been in south florida waters all my life, and i’ve seen a grand total of 1 small sand shark cruising the shallow water, in the mid 70’s i think. if you go out on a boat you see a lot more, though… we’ve got some pretty big tiger sharks not too far from the coast. maybe i’ve been lucky, more likely they’ve seen me and i haven’t seen them. then i had a real large hammerhead cruise well under me in about 12 feet of sparkling clear water in the dominican republic about 15 years ago. i got the hell out of the water! ajl, i don’t know if they’re doing this in Hawaii, but here and in the Bahamas some skippers have dedicated themselves to shark feeding scuba tours for visitors. just last week at a resort in the bahamas, a guy on a second honeymoon with his wife was seriously attacked during an early morning swim, very close to shore. i know sharks have very small brains, but could these feeding expeditions be teaching sharks to associate the human form with an easy meal? florida has always had more than it’s share of bites, but from what’s going on lately, they seem more aggressive than ever.
i’ve been in south florida waters all my life, and i’ve seen a grand total > of 1 small sand shark cruising the shallow water, in the mid 70’s i think. > if you go out on a boat you see a lot more, though… we’ve got some pretty > big tiger sharks not too far from the coast.>>> maybe i’ve been lucky, more likely they’ve seen me and i haven’t seen > them.>>> then i had a real large hammerhead cruise well under me in about 12 feet > of sparkling clear water in the dominican republic about 15 years ago. i > got the hell out of the water!>>> ajl, i don’t know if they’re doing this in Hawaii, but here and in the > Bahamas some skippers have dedicated themselves to shark feeding scuba > tours for visitors.>>> just last week at a resort in the bahamas, a guy on a second honeymoon > with his wife was seriously attacked during an early morning swim, very > close to shore.>>> i know sharks have very small brains, but could these feeding expeditions > be teaching sharks to associate the human form with an easy meal? florida > has always had more than it’s share of bites, but from what’s going on > lately, they seem more aggressive than ever. In the final minutes before sundown, I
ve (albeit briefly) witnessed a harbor seal, who had been curiously watching me for over an hour, attacked and torn apart in less than 8 feet of water and about 15 feet to the west... Ive also been out (alone) a number of times at night, and far too often been suddenly scraped/bumped from underneath and to the rear of my (darkness-limited) vision… I never surf with open wounds, thrash around or make noise erratically, figuring that they know Im in the water anyway, but why create "additional sources of interest"... Ive become a bit more cautious, usually avoiding waves breaking adjacent to marine mammal populations, even if the surf looks really good. Having been close to Oregons fishing industry, I am well aware of the various large, silent predators endlessly hunting for their next entreejust offshore… but hey, its their house, and you dont really want to be their invited guest for dinner… after all, you may be the meal.
Two weeks ago a friend described a very weird sighting. On a lone outing this guy paddled across the river to a sand spit break that looked promising. As he hiked the mile or so up the beach to this break he noticed some activity in the shallows while the tide was coming in. A 7 foot bull shark was herding mullet in from deeper water and into the shallows where he would corner them. This continued for 20 minutes or so until he had his fill and moved off into deeper water. He pondered what he had just witnessed and chose to go back across the river. Regardless of their reported lack of brain power I’ve always had a healthy respect for sharks, Jeff is pretty certain they are brilliant after that sighting. TS.>>> This is off the topic of shaping… A few days ago I was paddling out to > the lineup and saw a small shark charge toward a girl paddling in front of > me. Last night I watched an amazing program about jumping sharks called, > Air Jaws. All this stuff got me wondering if any of you have had any > interesting encounters with sharks? I know that most of you have logged in > a bunch of water time and probably have seen some pretty wild things. > Sorry if this has nothing to do with surfboard design, I’ve just been > having shark on the brain lately. http://www.wavecannon.com/
Though it’s not necessarily surf/human-food related, I think my shark story is neat-o: While still living in Texas (Gulf coast), we often went fishing just offshore. More than a couple times, I witnessed what have come to be called Spinner Sharks. Anyone heard of 'em? From what I’ve heard, most sharks are known to be solitary. These Spinner Sharks hunt in packs, and go crazy when they’re mating, apparently. While trolling, we would sometimes see a school of these sharks randomly jumping high into the air and spinning, like they were giving us a wild sea-world show. Each time we saw them, there were at least five or more. Sometimes it seemed like at least ten in a school, just bursting completely out of the water (what seemed maybe 5-6 feet high) in a wildly acrobatic display. We first thought they were porpoises or possibly king mackeral or something, but a game-warden friend assured us they were sharks. That was several years back, and I’ve never seen it since. Still haven’t quite figured it out. I’m fairly positive they weren’t feeding, so maybe they were just happy…who knows. But if they can get happy, that means that can probably get pissed off too. ??? Anyway, I don’t want to be in the water when they do.
Wow! I’ll bet spinning sharks were a sight. My dad and I were fishing for gaff top catfish 3 miles off Matagorda. Had about 20 lbs of them strung over the side of our 15 ft boat. We saw a shark longer than the boat take our catch in one bite. Also had some erie memories sitting in a boat in deep water outlets. Had bait on some hefty line in the water. The line just starts zipping off the reel. Pull, nothing. Adjust the drag, Ha! End of line, SNAP! … There are large mean creatures in saltwater. Standing on a Texas sandbar with my board one October catching the end of a swell. An 8’ sand shark surfaces heading directly at me. About 8’ away, the shark turns and submerges. I found the beach quickly. I’ve seen and felt probably 5 sand sharks while surfing. What to do, surf packin heat? I’d sure kill them if I could do it safely.
Wow! I’ll bet spinning sharks were a sight.>>> My dad and I were fishing for gaff top catfish 3 miles off Matagorda. Had > about 20 lbs of them strung over the side of our 15 ft boat. We saw a > shark longer than the boat take our catch in one bite.>>> Also had some erie memories sitting in a boat in deep water outlets. Had > bait on some hefty line in the water. The line just starts zipping off the > reel. Pull, nothing. Adjust the drag, Ha! End of line, SNAP!>>> … There are large mean creatures in saltwater.>>> Standing on a Texas sandbar with my board one October catching the end of > a swell. An 8’ sand shark surfaces heading directly at me. About 8’ away, > the shark turns and submerges. I found the beach quickly.>>> I’ve seen and felt probably 5 sand sharks while surfing. What to do, surf > packin heat? I’d sure kill them if I could do it safely. Well Noodle, I reckon killin’em really isn’t the answer. After all we are playing in their house so to speak. It would be like going to Africa and killing all the lions. I do most of my surfing in North and Central Fla. and sharks are pretty common. I have seen them 4 times in probably 18 years. And to say it was a adrenalin rush would be an understatement! I got out of the water once, because I was the only one in the immidiate area. But, it sure makes you keep your feet up!!! I think the best hope for shark worry free surfing is the electronic shark repeller. There is a working model used by divers, and it is my understanding that a smaller unit is being developed for surfers. It works basically by sending out an electrical impluse that sharks find disagreeable, but in its current configuration is about 10 pounds or so, and has to be activated by the diver. I think what we need is a rechargable unit that is on constantly and fits around your ankle, I think that would be good. Anyway, looks like something is coming in the not so distant future that will make surfing alot less worrisome for a lot of folks. Until then take a quote out of a issue of Surfer Mag from some shark expert who said " statisically speaking, more people are killed by pigs in Iowa than sharks in the ocean" what ever that means, makes you wonder what kind of pigs they have in Iowa. Sorry for rambling.
Well Noodle, I reckon killin’em really isn’t the answer. After all we are > playing in their house so to speak. It would be like going to Africa and > killing all the lions. I do most of my surfing in North and Central Fla. > and sharks are pretty common. I have seen them 4 times in probably 18 > years. And to say it was a adrenalin rush would be an understatement! I > got out of the water once, because I was the only one in the immidiate > area. But, it sure makes you keep your feet up!!! I think the best hope > for shark worry free surfing is the electronic shark repeller. There is a > working model used by divers, and it is my understanding that a smaller > unit is being developed for surfers. It works basically by sending out an > electrical impluse that sharks find disagreeable, but in its current > configuration is about 10 pounds or so, and has to be activated by the > diver. I think what we need is a rechargable unit that is on constantly > and fits around your ankle, I think that would be good. Anyway, looks like > something is coming in the not so distant future that will make surfing > alot less worrisome for a lot of folks. Until then take a quote out of a > issue of Surfer Mag from some shark expert who said " statisically > speaking, more people are killed by pigs in Iowa than sharks in the > ocean" what ever that means, makes you wonder what kind of pigs they > have in Iowa. Sorry for rambling. once while in band camp a big shark came up and bit my fin but it was cool cause it made my board ride better !
once while in band camp a big shark came up and bit my fin but it was cool > cause it made my board ride better! ------ Dude, That was funny.
once while in band camp a big shark came up and bit my fin but it was cool > cause it made my board ride better ! …Sharks like most animals have a"dog/cat like response"…meaning if it moves it open game for attack…Think of it this way,some of my best lures to fish with are surface lures,just like a surfer on a board…trolling anyone!..In June of 1998 I was surfing I.B. pier area ,and noticed that the fishing fleets were about 1/2-1 mile out in front of the pier.They were catching tuna.Then all of a sudden about 25 yards outside of the pier I saw a 11 foot Mako breech the water 6 feet out or more crashing thru schools of tuna(it’s a good thing Makos are primarily fish eaters)what a sight!I just kept surfing for another hour or so…As I was paddling back out to the outside I felt a stong current under my board ,and it totally up ended me, off my board,I then realized that I was sitting in a mako sharks boil!That did it!..and out of the water I went!Herb.
This is a real story. When I was a kid - about 11 years old - I was at my Aunt’s place in Coles Point Va. on the Potomac river. We could not get good TV reception up there (long before cable), so for fun, we would go up to the point and watch the fisherman draw in their sane nets. One night we are walking to the point and some kid comes running by with a shotgun and a box of shells. Everybody talking about “shark.” We get to the beach and there is a huge shark - in the net - drawn in about a 50-foot circle, just off the beach. That sucker would just keep going around the perimeter of that net looking for a way out - way unhappy about his situation. Under the flood lights, these fisherman in about a 10 foot boat - (three fat guys in waders - one with a shotgun) are out on the edge of the net and pump three shells into the shark each time it makes its circle until the box of shells is empty (25 shots). The shark at that point was subdued enough to drag the net to the beach - but still alive on the beach for quite a while. The fisherman were pissed as most of the catch was lost. The shark turned out to be a 9’ Bull shark - this is about 150 miles for the freak’n ocean??!!! Water there is brackish, but more fresh than salt. 1971 - story made the Washington and Richmond newspapers. To this day, I will never forget asking one of the fisherman what kind of shark it was - he just kept saying: “Dat ain’t nut’n but a man eat’a.” http://users.leading.net/~shine 
the TIME magazine ‘sharks’ article points out that the bull shark has a higher level of testosterone than any other living creature. just what we need, a shark on steroids!
AND can survive in fresh water, as SHINE points out.
In central america(Nicaragua)is a land locked crater filled with freshwater bull sharks ,very,very agressive ones at that.Herb.
Quick story, AJL - in the mid eighties, I was with a friend and we figured we’d have a surf at baby haleiwa’s - just outside magic island (near ala mo’, if you’re not familiar). While pushing off the ewa side if the magic island jetty, I got the tiniest of cuts on my index finger. Me and my bro were out for less than twenty minutes, when my bud goes, “tommy, I just saw something go under your board!”. I thought he was just giving me the business , but seconds later I saw a fin! It was about a 10-12 foot tiger, and the damned thing followed us all the way in across the shallow reef (even at dead low tide!). I guess it must be true about the blood thing…then, again, there just happen to be plenty of sharks in the area, and all the fishing boats - coming in - clean their fish while entering the harbor. In Hawaii, there has been a proliferation of attacks, they say, as a direct result of pollution. Fish that were normally on “mano”'s menu have shrunken in volume, and the sharks have come in closer to feed. (so they say). But I think that sharks on the south side of oahu and the west side are a little more aggressive because of local fishing. You don’t here it as much on the windward side. There’s a popular tee shirt in Hawaii or there used to be ) with a picture of a shark and a huge cockroach shaking hands, and underneath - the wise-ass caption, “Why can’t we be friends”. In the islands, both are a fact of life and everybody gets to accept 'em sooner or later…We got no choice!
P.S…That kid in Florida…Jessie Arbogast(sp?) just returned to his home, the other day (was attacked by a BULL shark{yes, Atlantic’s notorious aggressive}) - Interestingly, he was PUT into a light coma - DELIBERATELY - so that his body would heal better - (heard that from his doctor on CNN!).
My cousin went spear fishing with a friend off the south shore of Oahu. While they were looking for fish, my cousin glanced over at his friend and saw a 15 foot great white swimming up fast behind him. Waving his hands frantically, my cousin tried to warn his friend about what was approaching him. It wasn’t until the shark was 10 feet away that the other diver turned around and saw this thing. Just as he turned around, the shark veered right and dived down into the depths. They say that great whites are rare in Hawaiian waters but a few weeks after hearing my cousin’s story, I read a similar article in the local paper. Here’s a link to the story if anyone’s interested; http://starbulletin.com/2001/07/02/news/story4.html http://starbulletin.com/2001/07/02/news/story4.html
Warning! This site is sick… spooky shark photos… not for the squeamish! http://vatican.rotten.com/shark/
HOLY MACKEREL!!! (sapphire!)…I had no idea we had great whites - back home! Chicken skin,eh?! Thanks for the article,AJL! A Hui Hou -T.
Warning! This site is sick… spooky shark photos… not for the > squeamish! These photos underscore the fact that we may only be fifty yards offshore but we are truly in the wilderness!